To find this stretch, use 108 W Riverside Dr, Elizabethon, TN in a GPS.
Riverside Dr. is one of my favorite places to wade on the Watauga because of how easy it is to access and the amount of water you can cover. If you’re a beginner or taking a beginner with you I would recommend coming here since it’s so wide open and typically pretty easy to catch small to medium sized trout.
About half way on this street, I usually get in right above a small rapid and work my way up the river and cast my lines close to the opposite side of the bank. There aren’t many hard eddy lines to mend around, the water is slower, and it’s easy to walk around here.
Watauga trout can be finicky – I’ve had hard times figuring out what they’re eating. As far as nymphing goes I always bring my zebra midges, pheasant tails, and a variety of soft hackles. For dry fly fishing I bring sulphurs, puff daddies, BWO’s (these are more for the winter), emergers, Morgan’s Midge*, and caddis.
*When I see trout rising for flies and I can’t get them to hit a sulphur, BWO, or caddis, my fall back is always the Morgan’s Midge. Drop it behind your main fly and trout will hit it on the swing.
To find this stretch, use 108 W Riverside Dr, Elizabethon, TN, in a GPS.
Taylor Joyce Fly Fishing 
The Watauga is an awesome river that I haven’t fished enough. Last trip I had there was this summer and those little BWOs were coming off then as well. I’ve always heard that the winter BWO fishing is good so nice to see some confirmation on that!
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Not many people, even fly fishing people will venture out into the freezing weather in the winter just to try and catch a couple fish. Must admit that I am one of those people haha. Last time I went out I had icicles forming in guides. Do you ever have trouble with that?
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